[HorsesinHaiti]

I could do without another 4th quarter like this one, thank you very much, but it is ending on a better note than I feared.

My 16 ½ y.o. cat Sneezer recovered from pneumonia right when Pepo died, but then had other issues I couldn’t get resolved. Our vet was in this part of Haiti today so I had him come over to suggest a new way to deal with them or else have The Talk, since I have to be out of country for about 2 ½ weeks and I was afraid kitty would get into a crisis while I was gone. Dr. Keith had a solution the catsitter can deal with and kitty is still clearly interested in life around him, so I didn’t have to put him to sleep so soon after losing Pepo. Whew!

The real horse part is, today Mano and I went back to the Petite Riviere livestock market to see the pony we were offered in abstentia last week. It was an ‘only in the developing world’ scene! Entire male pony comes in with the owner sitting on his rump while ponying a (likely pregnant) mare behind, with her foal trailing the group. Pony is in a local halter and lead only, minding his manners until owner rides him up to a group of weanlings who start the sniff & squeal deal with him. We, owner, and pony head for a somewhat less congested area. This pony isn’t quite 14 hands and is more cowhocked than I like, but he’s at least a half-hand bigger than anything I’ve seen in weeks of looking. My options are him or a multi-day trip to the north coast for some blind shot searching, or a TB cross from Port (no farrier access= no thanks on the last one). So we check him out with a crowd gathering around.

As usual, pony isn’t trained to give his feet or mouth but he’s well mannered and gives in enough for a look. Teeth suggest he’s around 12, not too bad. No visible major issues in the feet or legs, no clear lameness, but cowhocked. Also usual, he has a chronic sore over his withers from bad tack but the sore is superficial, no sign of deeper infection. When I ask to see him ridden, the rider mounts by getting immediately behind pony, using his big toes to pincer grip the tendons above the fetlocks and hocks as stepping stones as he clambers over the tail to sit on the rump. Pony is being held but makes no offer to kick – BTDT.

Walk and gait are sound, hocks aren’t knocking as he moves – which for here means his conformation is average to good. Everything else seems to work normally. I’m not riding a horse with a wither sore since I haven’t tried to master butt-balancing. As clearly as we can tell (admittedly not that much!), he just needs groceries, time off and meds to heal the sore, and gelding surgery. No chance at X-rays, PPEs, or any of that! So I took the chance and bought him. Pix following.

[HorsesinHaiti]

Owner just called him ‘chwal’, horse, so I’ll have to name him. He has been chowing down ever since he arrived home with Mano. He’s already been introduced to the vet tech who will start treatment and deworm him tomorrow. The vet got a quick look before nightfall and agrees he’s around 12, we started planning to geld him sometime after I return.

The owner seemed proud of him but people here work like proverbial dogs, so the horses do also. Thus the chronic sore. Pony’s (typically) a bit head shy. Doesn’t have any concept of carrots being a treat, I doubt he’s ever been offered one before. He was looking worried whenever I or Dr Keith tried to examine him in my pen, likely because his entire environment including language just changed – the pale humans even sound different from what he’s used to. And we don’t react to him or give him orders the same way he’s used to, so I expect a reaction of ‘what’s happening NOW??’

[summerhorse]

He's cute!!

[Polydor]

aww cute little man.

P.

[DressageGeek "Ribbon Ho"]

I love the face!

[spotnnotfarm]

He is really cute! I like the name Mano, after where you got him.

I have missed many of your posts, how long have you been in Haiti? How much longer will you be there? I love how you have made horses work with your limited resources!

[cloudyandcallie]

I am so glad that you got another horse! The horse is lucky to have you. Hint I learned when I was a child: Take photos from side and from a rear angle and your pony's head won't look so big and his rear won't look so small. (Oh wait, that doesn't apply to WBs like I now have. But it does apply to all other horses.) Even from the "bad" angle, he looks nice. Get ready to spent $.

And I'm glad your kitty is hanging in there. I've got 2 18 yr olds, who have been healthy all of their lives but are beginning to lose weight. I had their mother for 17 yrs and their 2 siblings for 17 yrs (all rescues), so when you get a kitty to his/her teens, you've done a good job of caring for it. So enjoy your new horse and your old cat.

[HorsesinHaiti]

Thanks crew! Spotnnot, Mano is the guy who helps me look after them. The livestock market is about 7 miles away over a river, so Mano had to walk him back to my house after we bought him. I like the name also, but having two Mano's around would be too confusing. I'm pretty much a career Community Development type who's been at Hopital Albert Schweitzer for 15 years now, and will be here for who knows how many years longer.

C&C, good job on your kitties too! I'm with you on the pitfalls of that photo angle. I just couldn't pass on posting that expression. The other shot was the one that most clearly showed what condition he's in. More photos will be coming.

[spotnnotfarm]

OOPS! It would be confusing! That is what I get for reading before I was fully awake!

It sounds like you are doing great work in a hard place! Congrats on the cute new guy!

[HorsesinHaiti]

I can emphathize, Spotnnot, I'm just now finishing a VERY large mug of coffee!

Apart from not being more assertive about treating the wither sore, the previous owner did an OK-for-here job looking after him. I've seen many ponies in MUCH worse condition and few who were truly up to weight. But so long as people are willing to cut the previous owner that much slack -

I may just have found this year's unofficial COTH Christmas pony!

(no donations solicited Mods, he's 100% covered locally).

[HorsesinHaiti]

Here is a mildly better picture - except he's eating from ground level and that's also a lousy pose for showing how a horse is put together. He had just come back from getting his wither sore shaved, debrided, and treated. He was a pretty good egg for that also. He only pulled back when the vet tech came up with a needle and syringe of ampicillin. Hopefully that means he has gotten shots before - rural Haiti isn't completely without care.

also, a pix of the treated sore. If you don't like pix of sores, don't click on it. Though the horse has white hair on a prior wither sore site, the vet tech thought this one was fairly fresh. Which is at least somewhat consistent with the owener's tale of lending the horse out to someone who didn't take precautions. Whatever, now he's mine and he's under treatment.

[Toadie's mom]

Yay for you! Pony is a lucky guy and the wither sore doesn't look TOO bad.

[cloudyandcallie]

Oh good side picture of new guy. I can't wait to see the "after" pictures once you get some groceries in him.

You probably already know this because of your work, but the SBS company makes a product with copper peptides which helps grow hair back once the wound has healed. I tried it this summer on the one ******* rope burn a barn worker gave Cloudy 3 yrs ago on his cannon bone, and voila! after 2 bottles of the stuff, scar is gone, hair grew back, and no blemish. If you cannot get Jeffersequine.com to ship to you, let me know. (I think it is copper peptides, it's copper something.)

I tried to find the stuff cheaper on ebay, but turns out people buy it to grow their own hair. So it is more expensive on ebay than at Jeffers.

[cloudyandcallie]

And he's got a great expressive eye and a good coat.

[certifiedgirl]

I love him! Congratulations on the new addition, Ithat little guy just hit the jackpot

[HorsesinHaiti]

Thanks all. C&C, I can have Jeffers drop ship to our consolidator in Miami, so no more TSA surprises.

[Alagirl]

Wasn't it sugar or honey to put on stubborn wounds? r is that bad in the tropics?

name him Mike.
A friend of mine, Mike, has a World of Warcraft character named Switzer.

Yes, I am a nerd.
or Marco.

[HorsesinHaiti]

Honey. And we do use it in vet and human superficial wound care sometimes. I think the gnats would go to town over it, in this case, since I can't really bandage there. I have antibiotic ointment and SWAT, so he should be good.

Oh, I thought about naming him "Noel" since he's sort of a Christmas pony, but that would leave him open to too many jokes. "Christmas is coming!" Not to mention that I get too many requests for handouts already, why encourage that. It might be a good name for a North American based christmas pony, though.

[Alagirl]

I was afraid about the bug turning your new friend into a version of Pegasus.

You can call him Chris - short for Christmas. (Dick Francis hero)

[KPF]

He's VERY cute!

You could call him Nick, or Nicky (as in St. Nicholas).